Oct 30 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index fell on Friday under pressure from losses in the energy sector, while a record daily rise in global coronavirus cases further dampened investor sentiment.
* The energy sector fell 0.5% as US crude prices fell 0.6% per barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.1%.
* Adding to the gloomy mood, the country’s producer prices for energy and petroleum products fell 0.1% in September from August, according to Statistics Canada.
* As of 9:43 am ET (1:43 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 75.48 points, or 0.48%, to 15,595.22.
* Canada’s economy grew 1.2% in August, its fourth straight gain and slightly better than analysts’ estimates, data from Statistics Canada showed, despite expectations for slowing growth in September.
* The financial sector fell 0.6%. The industrial sector fell by 0.6%.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metal miners and fertilizer companies, rose 0.6%, with gold futures up 1.1% to $1,886.2 an ounce.
* On the TSX, 62 issues were higher while 155 were down, down 2.50 to 1, with 12.47 million shares traded.
* SNC-Lavalin Group Inc fell 9.8%, the biggest drop on the TSX after the construction company reported a third-quarter loss, followed by Trillium Therapeutics Inc, down 4.6%.
* The top percentage gainers on the TSX were Aecon Group Inc, which rose 4.9% after the construction company reported strong third-quarter results, and Gildan Activewear Inc, which rose 4.8% after several brokerage firms for clothing manufacturers were optimistic.
* The top traded stocks by volume were Hexo Corp, Suncor Energy Inc and Yamana Gold Inc.
* The TSX made no new 52-week highs and made no new lows.
* All Canadian issues made a new 52-week high and six new lows for a total volume of 23.78 million shares. (Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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